Chapter 105 Time, Back to the Present

Cherry Blossom Garden, flowers fluttering everywhere.

Cao Qin channeled his Grand Righteousness True Energy, intent on slaying the powerful foe.

And the "powerful foe" in Eunuch Cao's eyes was undoubtedly Feng Bujue.

Although Cao Qin was already close to invincible in this martial arts world... or rather, on this planet; for many years, he still harbored reservations about one person – the "Liao Head" of the "Broken Sword Teahouse."

This person, and the sect behind him... contained too many mysteries.

For the average person, ignorance often meant fearlessness.

But for someone like Cao Qin, the unknown... was absolute terror.

He could accept that there were people stronger than him in this world, as long as he knew exactly how strong that person was...

But he couldn't tolerate a man of unknown origin, unknown martial arts, and even more unknown thoughts, wandering around in the world.

"Oh, right, you seemed very interested in my 'Twelve Divine Arts'." Cao Qin suddenly spoke before making his move, "I might as well... tell you about them while I'm killing you."

"Oh..." When it came to trash-talking, Feng Bujue definitely had the upper hand, "...So you're going to tell me while you're being killed by me, is that right? Sure thing~"

He changed Cao Qin's words with a perfectly natural tone, mocking him in return...

"Heh..." Eunuch Cao chuckled and continued, "First, there's the 'Destiny Star Profound Art' and the 'Breathless Skill'. I should have already explained the principles of these two martial arts to you..."

As he spoke, he pushed out a ball of internal energy that he had kneaded into a water-like sphere between his palms.

It looked like... this move was just a light push with one hand, but the speed of the internal energy ball was faster than a cannonball, flying to Brother Jue's face with a "whoosh".

Fortunately, Feng Bujue's reaction and movement speed were still sufficient to deal with this ranged attack, and he activated [Spirit Gathering Technique - Modified] in time to avoid it.

However... the flying internal energy ball would not disappear just like that; after flying at high speed for more than a hundred meters... it finally crashed into a cherry tree.

Cao Qin's wave of released invisible internal energy actually blasted a large tree, seven or eight meters tall, into dust, vanishing into thin air...

"Damn... it's a Spirit Shot (a technique from *Yu Yu Hakusho*)..." Feng Bujue didn't say it out loud, but he couldn't help but complain in his heart.

"This humble one has practiced the Destiny Star Profound Art for more than fifty years, and the Breathless Skill has long since reached the ninth level. In terms of internal energy..." Cao Qin shrugged slightly, "...it has already reached the state of inexhaustible and unending."

"What's the use of having inexhaustible internal energy... you still can't avoid channeling it when you make a move." Feng Bujue clearly didn't understand martial arts, but he still sharply pointed out the other party's weakness, "That kind of attack just now... you still have to brew it for a moment before you can release it, right?"

"Heh... you're right." Cao Qin smiled again, "To possess unparalleled internal energy, but without exquisite external techniques to release and receive it, is a waste of natural talent..."

As he spoke, a burst of true energy condensed on Cao Qin's finger.

With a flick, a turn, and a tap of his orchid finger... a stream of internal energy instantly burst forth in response!

This energy was as gentle and soft as a breeze when it left his hand, but in an instant... it accelerated sharply, turning into the power of thunder.

"Crap!" This time, Feng Bujue couldn't dodge it; although he reacted with a very twisted, extreme movement, a large chunk of flesh was still scraped off the outside of his left arm by the finger energy.

"This skill is called 'Woman's Heart'." Cao Qin's somewhat effeminate voice then sounded, "I don't know who created this martial art, and I don't know if the name was given by its creator; but after practicing it, I felt... that the name was quite fitting."

As he spoke, he moved his hands continuously, releasing several finger energies towards Brother Jue one after another with two fingers at the same time.

"'Woman's Heart' has extremely complex qi circulation methods. Before the true qi is released, it has already undergone several changes in the meridians." Cao Qin continued to move his hands and speak, "It is also invisible and intangible after it is released, changing three times in an instant... making it elusive."

"The attack interval is okay... but the speed is a bit fast..." On the other side, Feng Bujue was also dodging, thinking about countermeasures while listening to the other party's narration.

With the speed of the first strike as a reference, the error in Zero Hour Calculations was reduced, so Feng Bujue could barely avoid the finger energies that Cao Qin released afterwards. However... it was still very difficult to dodge.

"Oh? You've caught up so quickly." After releasing more than twenty fingers in a row, Cao Qin continued, "Hmph... it wouldn't be impossible to exhaust you to death like this. However... such a method is a bit boring... after all, I still have nine martial arts techniques that I haven't used yet."

After saying this, Cao Qin stopped his actions; after pausing for two seconds, he continued, "'Woman's Heart' is amazingly powerful, and it requires very little internal energy to cast; even martial arts novices, as long as they have mastered this skill... will have a chance to defeat much stronger opponents." At this point, he changed the subject, "Unfortunately... as I said, this martial art is too complicated, and the requirements for aptitude are too high... apart from me, only Lin Yan and other unparalleled geniuses can master it."

While he was saying this, Feng Bujue had already taken out a hemostatic bandage from his bag (because he had lost several items recently, Brother Jue's bag had more space, so he also brought some store-bought items to remove negative statuses), and quickly stopped the bleeding on his arm.

"However... the next skill is exactly the opposite..." Cao Qin's words continued, "Even someone with extremely dull aptitude can easily learn it."

As he spoke, his figure suddenly shot out like an arrow, lightly folded in the air, and flashed suddenly, appearing on Feng Bujue's side.

"Horizontal and Vertical Fist." Cao Qin spoke the name of the fourth ultimate skill, and punched Feng Bujue's torso.

He didn't aim for the head, because he felt that the other party might avoid it, but if he hit the torso... it would be difficult to avoid.

However, Feng Bujue still avoided it.

It was as if he had been preparing to dodge this attack, and his dodging movement was almost perfect...

He leaned back and charged upside down, swept across the air, and flew out several meters lightly, before connecting with a backflip to stand firm.

"Hey, hey... Horizontal and Vertical Fist is Horizontal and Vertical Fist..." Feng Bujue said with squinted eyes after standing firm, "Your lightness skill isn't part of the fist technique, is it?"

"Heh... good eyes." Cao Qin smiled, "The body-closing technique I just used is the 'Vermillion Bird Wander' from the Four Symbols Divine Art."

"Oh... that one." Feng Bujue asked tentatively, "Is that the martial art that belongs to the same school as 'Black Tortoise Strength'?"

"Indeed." Cao Qin replied, "The Four Symbols Divine Art, has four kinds of techniques: 'Azure Dragon Chant', 'White Tiger Reverse', 'Vermillion Bird Wander', and 'Black Tortoise Strength'; it can be said to combine attack, transfer, movement and defense... all four." He paused, "Because I possess the 'Heaven Severing Step', which is known as the supreme lightness skill, it is even easier to use the 'Vermillion Bird Wander'."

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue didn't mind collecting more information through words; hearing this, he continued, "Okay... let's talk about that 'Horizontal and Vertical Fist' just now."